Four directions for the YouTube channel banner. The banner appears at the top of the channel page and is cropped differently depending on device. Each option below includes a simulation of the desktop crop ratio.
YouTube specs: 2560x1440px recommended. Desktop displays a wide center crop (~2560x423). Mobile shows a narrower center region. TV shows the full image. The safe area for text and key elements is the center 1546x423 region.
Antique map torn apart at the center with hex grid visible beneath. Franklin's territory in warm sepia on the left, Charlemagne's domain in cooler blue ink on the right. Includes the show title in period-appropriate cartographic lettering. The most narrative of the four: it tells the Episode 1 story in a single image.
Tabletop wargaming aesthetic: miniatures, hex tiles, dice, and game pieces arranged on a wooden table surface with a sinkhole at the center. Warm side vs cool side color coding. The framing as a physical tabletop game creates distance from the video game, reinforcing the analytical documentary angle.
Isometric hex landscape splitting apart at the center. Buildings, terrain, and civilization on both sides crumbling into a void. Warm tones left, cool tones right. The most visually detailed and "epic" of the four. Closest to traditional game art but with the destruction motif keeping it distinct.
Two leaders (Franklin and Charlemagne) flanking the crumbling hex field. Character portraits with the title treatment centered over the destruction. The most "YouTube thumbnail" of the four: faces drive clicks. But it also locks the banner to Episode 1's specific matchup rather than being series-generic.